Paul Klee

Verso: Untitled

Maker

Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940), designer

Title

Verso: Untitled

Year

ca. 1919-20

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Materials

oil

Supports

Dimensions

Image: 47.9 x 38.6 cm (18 7/8 x 15 3/16 inches)

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Anonymous gift in memory of William Warren Orswell

Object Number

46.470B

Type

Exhibition History

Dreams and Nightmares
German Graphic Arts, 1900 - 1933
Nov 05, 2004 – Jan 23, 2005

Label copy

When painting Columbarium, Klee reused a cardboard mount on which he had previously depicted a standing figure. After pasting a thin layer of tissue over the earlier image, Klee then started Columbarium. In the early 1960s, conservators discovered the earlier image and carefully removed the cardboard mount to reveal the figure which had been invisible for decades. The figure is similar to Klee’s images of a standing magician done in 1919 and 1920, often interpreted by scholars as mystical self-portraits.

Related Objects

Paul Klee

Columbarium of the Ochsenfrosch Family (Urnenstatte der Familie Ochsenfrosch)

More objects +

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Tombstone

Paul Klee (Swiss, 1879-1940), designer
Verso: Untitled, ca. 1919-20
Oil paint on paper
Image: 47.9 x 38.6 cm (18 7/8 x 15 3/16 inches)
Anonymous gift in memory of William Warren Orswell 46.470B

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